French, Moroccan, Mauritanian or Algerian, they were between 20 and 30 years old when they left France, just before or after the January 2015 attacks on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and the HyperCacher store.
Converted to radical Islam in a clandestine mosque in Sevran, on the outskirts of Paris, or with mentors, seduced by jihadist propaganda, they were for some driven by a group dynamic reinforced by the proclamation of the "caliphate" in June 2014 .
"The defendants do not deny having been attracted by the ideology of the Islamic State organization (IS). They on the other hand deny any implication in a terrorist enterprise", explains Karim Hakiki, special envoy of France 24 at the trial.
Many of them fell on behalf of the EI group, in suicide attacks or bombardments. They are only five on the dock, to answer for terrorist association of criminals.
Understanding the implementation of the Sevran sector
This particular audience, populated by absentees, aims to understand the establishment of networks in Seine Saint-Denis. "Many jihadists have left a clandestine mosque in Sevran," recalls Karim Hakiki.
The trial promises to shed light on the deadly journey of key figures in the French-speaking jihadist galaxy. Among the ghost defendants are the Belhoucine brothers, whose eldest Mohamed is considered the mentor of the killer of the HyperCacher, Amedy Coulibaly. Another key figure in the trial: the young convert Quentin Roy, whose parents have become figures in the United Families group demanding the repatriation of the jihadists to try them in France and their children.
Unpublished fact: if Quentin Roy is presumed dead - his parents learned of his death "as a martyr" in a suicide operation by a terse message in January 2016 - he will still be represented by a lawyer at the hearing. His parents will be heard as witnesses from Tuesday.
The requisitions are scheduled for Thursday 16 January and the verdict expected on 17 in the evening.
With AFP
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